Hollywood Records artist Freya Skye reconnected with director Boni Mata (www.bonimata.com) for her new music video Gold’s Gone. The collaboration follows the recent pairing on Skye’s
Can’t Fake It video, which was released back in January.
“The first time I worked with her was for a video called Can’t Fake It, which was sort of her debut on the scene,” Mata recalls. “She’s a relatively new artist. She’s only 15 years old and she’s in a Disney series called
Zombies. It’s a big franchise, so they have been putting a lot of work into her music career now that Zombies is about to drop, and they’re doing this whole worldwide tour.”
In the case of Can’t Fake It, Mata was sent the song and a short brief that suggested something “fun and unique.” Mata responded with a pitch that was totally unexpected — putting the teen in a corporate office, rather than a high-school setting, and highlighting the youth’s 'girl power' to transform the space in the best way possible.
Photo: Freya Skye and director Boni Mata, on-location
In Gold’s Gone, the teen and her friends take up residence at a stylish California hotel, where they enjoy the property’s rooms, lush grounds and pool area. Mata, who also directs commercials and longer-form work, says the shoot for Gold’s Gone took place at a Palm Springs hotel over the course of two days, with Skye and her team changing outfits and locations numerous times. The lead up to the production, however, spanned several months.
“I think I probably worked the longest and the hardest on any video with that one in particular,” Mata says of the Gold's Gone music video. “We had about two months of prep, so we planned it very, very far in advance. Freya lives in the UK, so we had to be really diligent about that. And she’s a minor, obviously, so we had to plan everything down to when she’s allowed to work, the hours within she’s allowed, what’s appropriate, what’s not for the age range. And then, of course, you get on the set and everything goes out the window because unexpected challenges happen.”
Gold’s Gone was shot using an Arri Mini LF camera.
“That’s really what I prefer,” the director says of her camera choice. “With the lenses...we were sort of going for a more vintage feel for this one, just because it played in with the creative. But we also wanted to keep it really digital and pop-y and fun, just because it’s for a younger audience.”
Mata often edits her work, as was the case with this project, cutting it in Adobe Premiere, and working from a laptop while she travels.
“First, I’ll watch everything,” she says of her process. “I’ll mark the best takes that I think [are] ‘movie magic.’ Those go in first. And then I try to match. And this happens even before we’re shooting.”
She refers to the shot list, which details the outfits Freya would be wearing in each scene, and which visuals would represent each verse and chorus.
“I try to keep them contained,” she says of the grouping. “And then, usually, at the end, I’ll kind of mix them all together and have it just be an explosion of fun.”
The post process for Gold’s Gone was somewhat relaxed, with multiple parties weighing in, including Freya's parents, manager, the label and the artist herself.
“Definitely, it’s a collaborative experience,” she shares. “And I prefer a collaborative process instead of just me making decisions, because I want to make everybody happy. There was a lot of back and forth — a lot of approval to be sought.”